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Thursday, 15 October 2015

Blog Tour: The Broken Hearts Book Club by Lynsey James

Today is my stop on The Broken Hearts Book Club blog tour for Lynsey James. I'd like to thank Jenny from Neverland Blog Tours, Lynsey and the team at Carina for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Secrets never stay buried for long…

Lucy Harper has always been good at one thing: running from her past.

But when her beloved Nana Lily passes away she has no choice except to return to the one place in the world she most wants to avoid… Luna Bay hasn’t changed much in the eight years she has spent in London.

The little Yorkshire village is still just as beautiful, but the new pub landlord is a gorgeous addition to the scenery!

Lucy only intended to stay for a few days, yet when she discovers that Nana Lily has not only left her a cottage but also the ‘Broken Hearts Book Club’, Lucy is intrigued.

Her nana never mentioned the club and Lucy can’t wait to get started, but walking into her first meeting she is more aware than ever that her past is finally catching up with her.

One way or another, Lucy must finally face the secrets she’s kept buried for so long -or spend the rest of her life on the run…

The Broken Hearts Book Club is the first of Lynsey James' novels I've read and it had a really nice easy feel to it, with of course a happy ending. It's the perfect kind of book for curling up with on a rainy day... One of them books that has a story line that you just know everything will be all right with.

Lucy Harper has returned to Luna Bay after a long eight years away, and just as she's making a speech at the funeral of her beloved Nana Lily she burst into random song.

Holding her head in shame she goes to the bar and starts up and instant connection with the landlord, Jake.

Lucy has only intended to stay in Luna Bay for a short period before returning to London where she has recently lost her job, however at the reading of Nana Lily's will, Lucy is left Rose Cottage... A picturesque setting right on the beach, a hunky barman and a free house verses a small flat in London but with her secret remaining just that.... It's a tough choice for Lucy.

Rose Cottage however comes with a condition. In order to keep it, Lucy must take over and chair the "Broken Hearts Book Club" her Nana used to run for a minimum of tree months... This is a complete shock to Lucy who knew nothing of the club, let alone why it was left to her.

With things seemingly going well with Jake, and the arrive of her friend Elle being also back in town, Lucy decides to give running the club a bash... Night one ended in disaster, and the next few weeks weren't much better. Over time Lucy often debates with herself on whether she's made the right choice and it slowly seems she does as she helps the group members come to terms with their grief, all except one that is.

Diane appears to be holding a grudge against Lucy in alliance to her best friend Maggie. Maggie blames Lucy solely for what happened to Vicky, and it's for these reasons Lucy ran away in the first place.

It's not until almost the end of the book that we discover what happened to Vicky, but it's obvious that both Lucy and Elle have carried a lot of guilt around over the years.

Things come to an abrupt end with Jake and Lucy is humiliated in front of the complete village by Maggie, all Lucy wants to do is to run away again but when a loved one becomes vitally ill things are put in to prospective for Lucy.

As I said earlier, the book is very easy to read and a little predictable with Lucy's ending but having recently read some full on books this was welcomed and was perfect for what I wanted. At times I felt a little bit of repetition within chapters, I personally didn't feel the need for Lucy who was narrating her own story throughout the book, to repeat what she was doing so often but that's just my personal preference.

Overall, The Broken Hearts Book Club had a great unique storyline with almost all of the characters being likeable and relatable and I would certainly recommend this if your looking to read a light hearted love story.